Squid Game

Squid Game. The global streaming phenomenon. Squid Game. The one show you're sick of hearing about every day. Squid Game. The name you've heard so many times that it's beginning to sound even weirder and sillier than it did when you first heard it. Semantic satiation aside, this likely isn't the first time you've heard of this viral hit from South Korea, Netflix's most popular show of all time. This thoroughly engaging mini-series chronicles 456 players, or contestants in a disturbing series of competitions inspired by children's games to pursue 4.56 billion won that will help them get out of debt or some sort of other financial difficulty. And there can only be one winner - leaving one heck of an ordeal ahead for everyone involved. “같이 하자. 내가 무조건 캐시 얻게 해줄게" "무슨 수로?" "무슨 수를 써서든.” Hwang Dong-hyuk, the writer-director put it best himself. "This is a story about losers, how these losers fight, how these losers die. There's no cool hero." And he's right. Seong Gi-hun (portrayed by Lee Jung-jae rather enthusiastically) is the underdog we are introduced to from the beginning, that you can't help but root for. He's far from perfect but he perseveres. Juggling a gambling addiction, an estranged family, as well as attempting to maintain a moral high-ground or justification for the dilemmas he must endure. This is where Squid Game works best. You've seen this concept, this allegory, these parallels and twists done before. However have you seen it done this well? What it excels at, what it succeeds in is bringing in a fresh new focus to this thriller-fantasy battle royale subgenre, by putting clear character motivations first, as well examining the impacts on the lives of everyone involved. Sang-Woo is seen as the relatively cynical, polite but not so altruistic business graduate in debt, Gi-hun the naive, hopeless gambling addict. Imperfect and flawed, real people. Only strengthening the emotional core of our story as well, and hardening themes of friendship, betrayal and exactly what victory is, what it cost and what it entails. A show like Squid Game relies heavily on how strongly crafted the characters are, and luckily we don't have to tolerate too many shallow ones. Squid Game shows us how as a result of their disadvantaged position and circumstances, how willing they are to sign off their lives for the entertainment of others, and a chance at a better life. In the early episodes, the show examines how these characters are pushed to show their true selves all in hope of a chance at a better life, at the expense of the life of others. The games also provide an escape, thrill, pleasure, freed from the weight, the burden of financial struggles. It all seems so promising for the players, you can't help but feel for them. This is all presented excellently. “돈이 하나도 없는 사람과 돈이 너무 많은 사람들의 공통접이 뭔 줄 아나? 사는게 재미 없다는거야." This becomes problematic in the latter half of the series which is a problem for many, the loud, one-note and bombastic VIPs, who are remarkably shallow and noticeably one-dimensional. I didn't mind the performances, for what they were working with, given the conditions the virus caused in finding foreign actors. What was a little irritating was the jarring disparity between the nuanced portrayal of the players and the sudden introduction to these less fleshed out higher-ups. Now I'm not making any case for the script being amazing, it's perfectly fine, only worsened when translated, however this decrease in quality in the writing between the players and the VIPs is still very noticeable and evident. The VIPs are silly caricatures who get too much screen time and lacklustre, eye-rolling dialogue (I kid you not, they manage to stretch out a sixty-nine joke for an hour). Evident by the lack of material given to them and the lack of a mystery as to what they are, their segments only feel rushed and frustrating. That nitpick aside, the miniseries makes for an ingeniously executed premise that works both as an analogy for capitalist society, the disparity between rich and poor, as well as being an endlessly engrossing and captivating tale of battle royale with people playing childhood games inspired by what took place once for many, on a playground. Without getting in to heavy spoiler territory, certain subplots and loose threads would make for a great second season with the winner of the games taking a step back, I hope those stories don't amount to nothing. I really appreciate the technical aspects of this show as well, and I recommend you go into the series blind. I will say that it has some great gore and a horrible and repulsive sequence of two secondary characters getting intimate in a bathroom stall. The production design, however is magnificent, as well as the writing and directing. Hwang Dong-Hyuk wrote and directed the entire show by himself, as it originally was envisioned as a film before Netflix snagged the rights to the concept. I will consider posting a longer, spoiler review shortly as this show deserves one. Squid Game ends with a bang. But perhaps the best part of it is that regardless of what comes up in the possible second season, regardless of whether we even get a competent second season, Hwang Dong-hyuk leaves the audience with a reminder that when the final shot of the show plays and the credits roll, the story is far from over, and the games are still run. *Edit as of 06/25: S2 was so awful I’m not sure if I will finish the third season of the show… *